Tioga Downs kicked off training for its third annual Scholarship Race on Saturday morning for five local area high school students, who will take part in a scholarship harness race on Sunday, June 10
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Participants from Binghamton, Chenango Forks, Chenango Valley, Johnson City, and Maine-Endwell High Schools are in the process of learning some of the tricks of the trade from some of the top drivers-trainers at Tioga Downs. Corey Braden, Jason Mac Dougall, Judy Lanpher, Jamie Paquet, and Paul Bernardo have all volunteered their time to assist in helping the high school students get a better understanding of the sport of harness racing and some of the daily care that goes into the horses.
The race will take place on Sunday, June 10 at Tioga Downs in between the live races, which will also feature the $200,000(e) Bettors Delight Open Pace and its counterpart the $200,000 Artiscape Pace for open mare pacers. The students will ride in a double seated jog cart with a professional driver-trainer who they have learned from for the past three weeks.
Scholarships for the event will be given out in the order of finish of the race, 1st place: $3,000, 2nd place: $2,000, 3rd place: $1,200, 4th place: $800. The sponsors helping support the third annual Scholarship race are the Harness Horse Breeder’s of New York State, Southern Tier Harness Horsemen’s Association, New York Sire Stakes, and Tioga Downs.
(Tioga Downs)